Join us as he discusses his two very different careers and how he’s still involved in the NRL despite no longer playing the game itself. He reveals his Steven Bradbury moment and his attempt at a bodyboarding career (these two moments are unrelated), and teaches us to follow our guts when it comes to investing.

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[00:21:07] I was very active, looking into what to do with my money. They were key requisites that you needed for your property. Looking back now, I think 'God, it was a savvy investment for that location'. And I would have paid $290,000 and I nearly would have doubled it, which was really, really pleasing. 

 

This is Property Investory where we talk to successful property investors to find out more about their stories, mindset and strategies.

 

I’m Tyrone Shum and in this episode, we’re speaking with NRL superstar, Jeremy Latimore. After 11 years playing for 5 different NRL clubs, he retired in 2019 and took inspiration from his property success and became a mortgage broker. He shares what life was like playing professional rugby, and how these skills have been invaluable in his property journey.

 

 

It must be a big change of pace, going from playing NRL full time to studying and working in mortgage broking. Now that his days are more desks and fewer dummy halves, Latimore details what a typical day looks like for him.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:00:52] Usually I wake up at about five o'clock— my wife goes to the gym then, so I try to wake up and read, meditate, journal, get ready to go to the gym. She comes back and then I go to the gym, come home, eat. And then I drop one of the kids, she drops one of the kids— because my daughter likes going with her and I drop my son. Then generally I head to work and try to get as much as I can done in the time I'm at work. Then I go and pick the kids up. 

[00:01:19] Me and my wife try and share that, she's got quite a full on job. So I've had to pick up the slack since I retired from playing rugby league! I feed the kids, get them to bed and then try and relax and decompress a little bit. And if I have to catch up on some work, I'll try and do that at night as well. Then generally I like to try and be in bed by 9:30. But last night, I was still staring at the computer about 10:30 because I've got a fair bit of work on at the moment. 

It sounds like a full-on household! He explains the growing industry his wife works in and how proud he is of her.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:03:06] She is a marketing manager for Milk Lab. So she works for Freedom Foods. So yeah, she looks after all the plant based milks. She's really, really busy with that. And that's obviously a space which is growing with everyone trying to be more health conscious and sort of moving away from dairy to [those] sort of products. So yeah, I've got to pick up the slack these days, because she sacrificed a lot for me when I was playing rugby league. She's a soldier. She obviously goes to the gym at five and she's non stop until she sits on the lounge once we get the crazies to bed.

There are morning people and night people— which one would Latimore describe himself as?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:03:53] I'm so programmed to training early. So with playing professional sport, we always did our hard stuff in the morning. Say if I got dropped to reserve grade and had to train of an arvo, I always found that so hard to get motivated to do my day, then go and train in the arvo. But sometimes I don't have that chance and I've got to do it in the arvo. I just have to do it. You bite on the mouthguard and get through it.

Taking a step back, he delves into his childhood, where he grew up, and the beginnings of his rugby league career at a young age.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:05:22] I grew up in Port Macquarie. When I was 15, I had a year off rugby league and wanted to be a pro bodybuilder which didn't eventuate— I was a bit big for the body board! So then in my last year in Port Macquarie, completing my HSC, I was lucky enough to get an offer to come to the Cronulla Sharks. I hadn't signed the contract, but I dislocated my shoulder and had to get a shoulder reconstruction. They, luckily, still offered me the contract and once I finished my HSC in November, I moved to Sydney and started training with the Cronulla Sharks under 20s. 

Port Macquarie has changed a lot over the years, especially in the last two decades. Latimore describes what it was like when he was growing up.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:06:09] It was a pretty cruisy town back then. These days, it's fully transformed and it's a real hub. Everyone's moving up from Sydney, my best mate just sold his property last week to a Victorian who's moving up. So it's a very popular place. It's a beautiful spot up there. But back in the day, I was rolling around on my bike when I was 12 or 13, riding around town and bodyboarding. So obviously, they're memories that have stayed with me forever. 

[00:06:37] And all my mates who were my best mates are still my best mates now. Even though I've gone on this journey, playing rugby league and played for half the NRL clubs, I've stayed close with them and love nothing more than getting back there. And now having my own children, showing them where I grew up. Mum and Dad are still on the same property. It is really cool when I do get up there and take the kids to places I did as a kid because it does bring back some good memories. Even going to take my little boy fishing. Me and my old man used to do a lot of that. So we do love that.

He goes on to detail what sparked his interest in rugby league and how it led to an offer from a club at just 15 years old.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:07:37] In my under 16s team, we had actually four guys who went on to play for NRL clubs, which for a small town was unbelievable. So I wouldn't have even been in the top five best players in the under 16s team, but I ended up playing the most games and had the longest career. But it was just my good mates, playing footy. I didn't take anything too serious[ly] as I was younger. And obviously I mentioned I had a year off to go bodyboarding and came back. I started getting picked in a few of the local rep teams. I was really just training and trying to put on some muscle. Actually, one of my best mates, he was already signed with Cronulla Sharks, and he asked if I could come down to a training camp. I impressed them and they showed interest. And that was just pre-me dislocating my shoulder and obviously, the rest is history. I still got that contract and moved to Sydney after that. 

He goes on to describe what it was like getting into the club and starting to train with his new teammates while working at the same time.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:08:47] To be honest, when I first moved to Sydney, I didn't really look after my shoulder. I wasn't the most dedicated to my rehab. So I was really behind the eight ball there. I think I missed the start to that next season in the under 20s. When you first come into a squad, you train in the afternoon and you have to work of a daytime. So I actually worked at Toyota, I was a mail boy there and then I'd go to training in the afternoon. So I just kept working on my game for the rest of that season. 

[00:09:21] We had a really good year. We made the game before the grand final and got knocked out by the Parramatta Eels, who Jarryd Hayne was actually a member of then— he would have been about 16 and was carving us up. Then I went back to Port Macquarie and got a call from the CEO, Steve Rogers, who told me I made the under 19 Australian team, which I thought was actually a gee up at the start! It was a real Steven Bradbury-like selection because a few of the other boys had pulled out and I was lucky enough to... my progression in that first year was something I never would have foreseen and something I still look back on and shake my head because I think of that team there's only one guy who didn't play NRL. And at that point, there were already six or seven guys who were established NRL players. So it was really surreal to find myself in that environment. But once you get that taste for that sort of level of football, the hunger really does come through.

Mentality, Resilience, and Perseverance 

Between moving to a new city, starting a new job, and beginning a professional football career, Latimore’s schedule was jam-packed.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:10:31] After that year I actually got put into full time training for the pre-season. They had a spot of 40 boys, so there's a few of my actually favourite teammates who also came up. So with that you're five days a week. Generally, if you carry a bit of extra weight you have to come in on Saturday as well and try and trim the fat off. And I was definitely in that after that first off season! I really treated myself. But you learn to train and play like a professional and even then I look back and I was still on the weekends having big nights— sometimes two big nights— and then coming in on a Monday and having to rip into my training. Which, as I got older, I definitely didn't do that, the body doesn't allow and obviously your whole mindset towards being a professional changes. And obviously, as you progress into having a family, you value different things. 

 

[00:11:20] It's quite full on in the pre-season, because you're doing five weight sessions, like two very big lower body and two very big upper body. At the same time, you're probably on the field five days. So two of those days are really heavy days. The other two will be sort of speed and ball skill stuff. But as a young kid going into that environment, you're pulling up a bit better, but still, when the physicality of the established NRL plays, you really find where you belong and there's a pecking order. But the journey I did go on through my NRL career really set me up and taught me a lot of things with my mentality and resilience, and even the perseverance I needed to show to get through my rugby league career.

Latimore discusses some of the biggest lessons he learnt earlier in the pre-season.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:12:26] Early in my career, in the offseason when you're younger, you might get five or six weeks off. And so in my last year before I retired, I'd probably have eight or nine weeks off. So in my early days, I was like, 'Nope, I'm gonna go train as hard as I can in the off season so when I get back in November, I'm gonna win everything and impress the coaches'. But in three weeks, I'm completely burnt out. Because I've trained so hard in the off season, and as you get older, you'll learn that you've got to keep the body ticking because if you completely stop, that's when you're gonna break down, when you come back in November. But you learn your body and what you need to do to have yourself in decent condition to get back. And then in that two to three months before that first trial, just get yourself prepared to get through the physicality as well as the mentally draining six months of the football season. 

Tyrone Shum:
It’s tiring just thinking about it, let alone living it! Latimore definitely demonstrated his mental and physical strength during those years.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:13:20] I trained full time from about 2006. So pretty well from 2006 I did preseason every year, then I went back to part time in the season, then first two years, in 2007, 2008. But then from then on, I trained full time until I retired in 2019. So I played 11 years, actually, in the top grade because I didn't debut until 2009. So a long time and even when I think now, it was an awesome journey and at times though you're really questioning yourself as a player. 

[00:13:58] I remember in my second year I ended up dislocating my other shoulder and had to get a shoulder reconstruction. I got a $5,000 offer off Cronulla Sharks to stay and just train in the reserve grade. Luckily the Parramatta Eels came in at the last minute and made me a decent offer, full time in the preseason. So things just ended up happening. It took me on a journey, I did end up playing for five clubs across that 11 years in the NRL but I met some fantastic people and opened some great doors for post-rugby league as well. 

 

Coming up after the break, Latimore delves into how he’s still involved in the rugby league world and how he’s helping rural children...

 

[00:15:08] Because a lot of these country towns is kids who are committing suicide. And NRL is really trying to get out there. Because rugby league, it's hard and strenuous. And it is very physical, but it teaches you so many skills like that, which I'm trying to ingrain into my kids now as well. 

 

We dive into the beginnings of his property portfolio and how he got started...

 

[00:19:42] I had a healthy deposit because I was a bit of a tightass and I'd been saving for a while, but obviously I wasn't on a great income, I was on an okay income. I was down the bottom of the pecking order in the NRL for a long time though, so I decided to get into the property market and it ended up being a really good investment. 

 

We discuss his biggest property blunder, and what he learnt from it...

[00:23:29] If I had bought in Port Macquarie back when I was talking about it, my wife and I, we could have made some riches because that market just went crazy over that next period of time.

 

And that’s next. I’m Tyrone Shum and you’re listening to Property Investory.

 

 

Latimore describes the new, off-field role he plays with the St. George Dragons and what it teaches him, and in turn, teaches his own children.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:14:44] Just last week I went out to Griffith and all the surrounding towns out there as part of the NRL. So the Dragon sent me as an ambassador and I went with Luke Lewis from the Cronulla Sharks, he's one of my good mates and we went around to probably five or six schools. Did some clinics of an afternoon and just went out and spoke about resilience and leaning on your support networks. Because a lot of these country towns is kids who are committing suicide. And NRL is really trying to get out there. Because rugby league, it's hard and strenuous. And it is very physical, but it teaches you so many skills like that, which I'm trying to ingrain into my kids now as well. Even gratitude and being grateful for what you do have. 

[00:15:31] So I was lucky enough to go out and do that as part of my Ambassador role with the Dragons. I've actually got to go to Mudgee for a few days next week when the boys play the charity shield out there against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Next weekend I'll go and do a similar thing, go to the schools and run some clinics. And also then on the Saturday we host a function, and fans and partners of the club come along and then we go to the game and watch the boys play the trial. 

  

[00:15:57] Also with my role with the Dragons, I do partnership, I'm in the partnership team, so liaising with the partners of the football club, hospitality, and then on game day going around and talking to them and having a beer. But, saying that, keeping my mind on the job! It's something I'm really grateful for. A small town kid from Port Macquarie, lucky enough to play 11 years in the NRL, train full time for 15. And now I'm retired and I'm lucky enough to have this role with the football club. 

[00:16:25] But also I've got this job doing mortgage broking, which I love and I'm so passionate about. I've owned a lot of property in my time as well, so it's something I'm really passionate about. I love helping some old teammates buy properties and stuff now, which is really good. 

Young people are growing up with social media at the forefront of their lives, and although this has its positives, it has its downsides too. Latimore shares his views on this topic.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:17:03] When we were talking about this last week out in Griffith, I just said back in the day, if you were getting bullied, you could go home and escape it. But now you can't, because social media. There's so many avenues that bullies can bully kids, and it's just with them the whole time, I hate it. And that's one thing of social media I really don't like. And there's always going to be people who are bullies in their journey, people who've had a difficult upbringing, or they've got issues in their own life. And that's why they do that. 

[00:17:44] But as a parent— you can definitely relate to this— that's my thing that I really want to protect my kid, but I want him to... it's gonna happen, but he's got to have that mental resilience. And same as my daughter, to be able to cop it and realise that they're doing it for reasons that they're not happy with their own life. But just that social media, and how people can get to the kids, it is a concern.

[00:19:07] I think that they measure how popular they are by the likes they get on Instagram, which is a load of shit.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:19:16] Exactly, yeah. That's crazy.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:19:18] Anyway, we can only do what we can.

Turning back to his investment journey, Latimore discusses the first property he bought, in the area of the NRL team he had just signed with, and the highs and lows that came with it.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:19:36] It was a property down in Wollongong, I had just signed with the St. George Dragons in 2012. I had a healthy deposit because I was a bit of a tightass and I'd been saving for a while, but obviously I wasn't on a great income, I was on an okay income. I was down the bottom of the pecking order in the NRL for a long time though, so I decided to get into the property market and it ended up being a really good investment. 

[00:20:00] We sold it a few years ago, but it was sort of at the top of the market. It had its moments though, [like] when the hot water tank was in the roof and it exploded. Oh. And there [were] a couple of other issues. I think I had a few tenants that were partying a bit in the house, and I was getting complaints all the time. But it ended up being a really good investment to be honest. And Wollongong was a market from when I bought in 2012, to selling in 2017, really grew. And the only reason we did sell it is so we could buy our family home. 

So he was living in the right place at the right time, but what drew his eye to that particular property?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:20:41] It was good, I had good tenants. Well, at the start. It was pretty well positively geared from the start, like, I was getting good rent. It was a unit, so there was a bit of strata and stuff, but it was in a really good location, near the big hospital down there, five minutes from town, five minutes from the uni. So stuff that you need as a property investor. And because I was very active, looking into what to do with my money. They were key requisites that you needed for your property. Looking back now, I think 'God, it was a savvy investment for that location'. And I would have paid $290,000 and I nearly would have doubled it, which was really, really pleasing. 

[00:21:39] It was only when I moved back. So I went and played two years for the New Zealand Warriors in 2010 [and] 2011. I didn't want to buy any property over there. And I just decided when we come back, because I was playing for the St. George Dragons, we'll buy property down in Wollongong. And that was just the main reason, I could actually go and look at the property. I liked the property. And I only looked at probably three or four properties before I did buy that one. 

 

[00:22:10] I actually do have a couple of bad stories about property investing. My wife had a really good property down in Cronulla, which she bought with her mother back in the day. And we're at a point in about 2015 and we're like, 'We want to go and do something else'. And we were talking about purchasing in Port Macquarie because I was from there, and I knew the market was starting to get a bit stronger. But we got put onto this guy who touted himself as a property investor guru and [would] do everything for you. That first property wasn't too bad, I didn't really like the guy, he was a bit shady. And then straight away they're pushing us into a second property and we bought that off the plan. We only were meant to put a 10% deposit in, ended up putting a 20% deposit in by the time it's settled. When it was completed the val came in under what it was meant to be. We ended up selling it about three or four years later. Factoring in all the money we put into it, we end up losing about $70,000. 

[00:23:18] I've got some really positive property stories— the first one we bought was good, we ended up making some money on that, but it was less than what we lost on the other one. If I had bought in Port Macquarie back when I was talking about it, my wife and I, we could have made some riches because that market just went crazy over that next period of time.

We wouldn’t grow if we didn’t make mistakes— Latimore notes the number one rule he learnt and now always follows.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:23:49] You only learn from your mistakes. I learned to trust my gut instinct, and same as my wife. But it was an expensive lesson.

Tyrone Shum:
Latimore has owned a handful of properties throughout the years. So how many does he have in his portfolio now?

Jeremy Latimore:  

[00:24:10] Across our journey we had four, and then we ended up selling all them before we bought our family home. So two of them [were] really, really good investments that made us some money, and then the third one was a decent investment but that was sort of cancelled out by that fourth investment.

To dive further into his investment journey, he explains the investment properties he referred to earlier that didn’t perform too well.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:24:45] They were both on the Gold Coast, actually. One was just in one of the estates out there. But looking back, we were just naive and we should have [done] more research considering we both did with the first two, but we just trusted this guy. And they were getting a clip on the broker, they were lending out the money. And I don't want to say name or the business on here, because I'm not like that, that comes back to us. And that was our own fault. But for people who are listening and are watching this, you've got to put time into [those] sort of decisions and not trust other people. You have to trust yourself, because at the end of the day, you're the one who's gotta live with whatever happens. 

Back Your Own Judgement 

He shares how the relationships he’s formed within the property world are so meaningful to him.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:25:53] The reason you're doing is to make money and to build your property portfolio. And, I will go back into the property market again soon. And now that it is my life and my industry, I'll be definitely doing it myself and putting a lot of time into that decision. In saying that I've worked with some fantastic buyer's agents and became mates with some people who are involved with companies that go and do it for you as well. So there are people around me that I can go to to help me with that decision. And I think now everything's a lot more regulated than back then. And you can sort of have the confidence when you do go to someone, but at the same time, you've got to back your own judgement.

He tells of a time he saw his hard work in property pay off and how it all got started.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:26:49] When I sold both the Wollongong one and the Cronulla one, I remember we went to the auction. One was sold just by an agent, private treaty, but the other one was auction. And that was the first time I've ever experienced an auction. And that was pretty cool. And it went over reserve. That was after I played a game on the Friday— we'd won, too, so it was a good weekend— then went there on the Saturday morning. 

[00:27:12] Me and my wife had done a few renos to the property down in Cronulla, and it was a beautiful little unit in a great spot. We had two kids by that point. We actually moved back into it when I moved back to play for Cronulla, so we could do the work on it and get it ready to sell. That was definitely an 'aha' moment— when we heard it go over the head we went like, 'Did that really... Is that the right price?!' And then obviously the agent came up and let us know. That was pretty cool. Because we literally would have sold [those] two properties within the space of about a month of each other. So to get two really good results was very satisfying. It is pretty cool for that feeling because you are making money and you do put a lot of time into paying back the mortgage and hoping that you're going to get capital growth, and when you see it come out at the end and you are rewarded, it's pretty cool. 

After those successes, Latimore and his family took some time away from the market to find their perfect property.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:28:12] Well, we actually went and rented for a year and a half because we were going to wait until the end of my football career to work out what we wanted to do. In my last year we decided to enter the property market then, so we started looking and I reckon it was only the fourth or fifth property we looked at, in Gymea Bay, and fell in love with it. A bit of negotiating and they accepted our offer. It is a good feeling because I've played professional sport for a long time and you have the wins and losses, and when you get a property like that it is a good win. We love where we're living now and obviously going to hold some fond memories bringing up the kids there.

It’s not very often you see NRL players turn into mortgage brokers— he explains the journey that led him here.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:29:21] What actually happened... when I was at the Warriors, I started doing a business degree, transferred back to Wollongong Uni when I was playing at the Dragons in 2012. Signed for the Panthers, so I was living in Cronulla, driving to Penrith for training, driving to Wollongong for uni. I did that until 2016, completed my uni degree. And at that point, Pepper Money actually sponsored the Penrith Panthers, they were Pepper Stadium back then. I met the CEO and he was a great guy. Actually, he wasn't CEO but he is now, Mario. And he said, 'Do you want to come in and start doing some work in the office?' So from that point, I started popping into the Pepper office probably once every two or three weeks and learning about mortgages and what that entails. 

[00:30:11] Because I knew I'd end up in numbers somewhere, but I didn't know whether it'd be mortgage broking or... I liked financial planning, and I invest in the stock market as well. So that's where I thought I would fall. Obviously, travelling from Concord to North Sydney where Pepper was based was okay. But then when I moved back to Cronulla, it was a bit of a nightmare trip. One of my best mates I played football with was actually a mortgage broker at the time and he said, 'Why don't you start coming in and learning the ropes with us? You can just pop in on days off, and see how it's done'. And he was letting me look at files and get on with the aggregator he was with, doing some dummy runs. And I was like, 'Man, I think this is what I want to do', and I did that for the last two years of my career. 

[00:30:59] And that's how I went. The guy I actually was doing that with, he ended up getting out of broking about a month and a half after I retired. So I had to move business. It was a roller coaster, first year in the mortgage broking game, obviously with COVID as well. And I hadn't built up that network, so to say, other than my close mates and my football mates who let me help them out. But now I'm at a point where it's going really, really well. And I'm based down in Cronulla with a broker called Donna Beasley, and she's on the MFAA board and she's been established for a long time. You throw a question at her, she's just, boom, into it straight away. She's awesome.

Latimore was very lucky to come across what he sees as an internship after studying mortgage broking, and he loves learning everything he can on the topic.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:31:54] That's the thing. Obviously I touched on finishing my uni degree, I got probably two or three Education Awards throughout my NRL career. I was very proactive in doing that life after rugby league because I was on the fringe for a long time. And I had a few injuries early in my career, my wife was very career motivated. So she didn't want me sitting at home being a lazy bugger. So she sort of gave me a kick up the bum to do the study. 

[00:32:17] Then as I got older, the kids were in that full time daycare or school, I was like 'Well I'm not hanging at home and doing nothing'. So I thought I'd made the use of my days off by trying to build. Whether that was doing another course because I did start doing a financial planning course. And then obviously did my diploma and my Cert 4 in mortgage broking. So there was a real passion there as well. But it sort of was like an internship. And obviously, also, I was going in with my mates, which I really enjoyed and obviously learning how to do mortgage broking because there is so much to learn. And, every day I'm learning something new— even today, we had probably three or four BDMs come through and just learn about the different policies and what the niches are for every bank. It's so interesting. 

Latimore begins by explaining what the biggest difference is when purchasing property from the buyer’s point of view, versus the mortgage broker’s point of view.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:00:28] I get people call me up and go, 'Mate, I've got so much equity in my property, and I've got so much savings'. I go, 'What's your income?' And they're like, 'Oh, I don't have that good an income'. This is the thing that gets me is the banks only care about serviceability and your ability to repay that loan. So you could have $500,000 in the bank, and you want to borrow $500,000. But if the income is not there, even though it's a 50% LVR, the banks only care about serviceability, and being able to repay that loan. 

[00:00:59] That's probably the biggest thing as a property investor, because I had, as I mentioned, for my first property I had really good savings, but my income wasn't there and I'm like, 'Why can't I borrow more money?' And now that I'm in the industry, I see it on a regular basis, when someone calls me and goes, 'I want to borrow this amount', I'm like, 'What's your income?' You try to prequalify people as you talk to them on the phone, and you're like, 'All right, leave it with me, I'll see if I can work it'. Because obviously, there's different banks you can help different customers with.

Living in a post-2020 world has changed a lot for everybody. Latimore describes how the pandemic has affected his portfolio, and how he sees Australia’s biggest markets at the moment.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:03:16] I've got a bit of money tied up in the stock market. So obviously, that's been a roller coaster the last 12 months, literally about this point last year, things were looking rosy and then it fell off a cliff. So a couple of the ones I'm invested in haven't bounced back how I'd like, but once I pull some of that out, it'd be trying to find... and I just feel like now I've got the finger on the pulse doing this every day. And listen to podcasts like yourself and other people who are talking about it, you learn so much. 

[00:03:44] I think Sydney market is cooking at the moment. But [the] Melbourne market, it's had a bit of a downturn because they've been so affected by all the lockdowns down there. Looking in different places, but just doing that research or going to someone you know, like Michael Martin from Investment Window, and getting an expert to try and help you out that way. Because they get all that data and can help lead you into a property.

He describes how banks often prioritise their customers depending on their current needs.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:04:35] The problem is with some of the banks, pre-approvals are taking forever to come through because they're not high on the priority list— purchases are. Then it's refinances and then the old pre-approvals get pushed to the bottom. Sometimes you can pre-qualify someone who's got a really strong borrowing, to give them the confidence to say 'Rightio, you've got the bat'. As long as there's nothing hiding behind the rock over there that you don't know about which they haven't told you, which generally, if you've done a thorough pre-qualification, you know that, but you can give them a little bit of confidence that they can go purchase. 

[00:05:09] But at the same time, I do like to have that pre-approval for my customers to go and purchase, because I'd hate to tell someone to buy something and there was something happening with the bank and you couldn't get that loan across the line. That's on you then and it's such an emotional thing, purchasing a property. And if someone was to put down money and to lose that property, because they couldn't get the financing...  touch wood, that's something I haven't experienced. And I hope I never do, because I do take my job very seriously. 

[00:05:42] I love helping people with getting their finances, because they are the lifeblood of your business. I've helped a couple of people settle loans this week, and they've already gone, 'I passed your number onto so and so'. That is pleasing, because that's how you build the business and you love people telling you that you're doing a good job, because sometimes you don't know if you are!

You might not expect a blokey bloke to be into certain activities, but Latimore doesn’t shy away from the unexpected. He delves into his morning routine.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:06:40] I love this stuff. I'm an avid book reader, so I read every day. I've read Atomic Habits and different books along the way, which have helped me build this morning routine. And I feel that that just helps my mentality. So I mentioned read, meditate, journal— I try and do that four to five days a week. I don't do it every day, because on the weekend, I'd like to have a bit of a rest and not get up at 5 AM. 

[00:07:10] But by doing that, and then going in training— there was a period there— obviously COVID was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. And then after COVID, I just wasn't in a good routine. And I was in my first year retired from playing professional sport where I'm told to be here at this time, you've got to do this. Even playing footy you've got to run with the ball, get to this point, get equipped by the ball so your team can get to that point and hopefully set it up to score a try. So I just lost my way a little bit and that's what I developed this morning routine after reading the 5 AM Club and then Atomic Habits after that. I just find my days I come into work I'm so much more productive in my days now, through doing this.

He further explains the concepts in his favourite mindset books, and how he tweaks them to suit his lifestyle.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:09:32] Robin Sharma, he talks about... and I don't do it exactly how he says it. He wants you to exercise first thing so that your heart rate's up and you jump out of bed. So I'm different, I get up and I like to have a lemon with hot water because I read Kelly Slater does it, and he never gets crook! And then I just make a quick instant coffee because I don't want to wake the kids up. Then I'll go back in and I read. But generally with the 5 AM Club, it's meant to be you do that for 20 minutes. So, exercise, then the next 20 minutes is brain so read audiobooks, watch YouTube, whatever it is, just build your brain. 

[00:10:18] And then the other one is journal, I think it's just [those] two. But he breaks it into 20 minutes blocks and you do it like that. I do mine a little bit different, but you do what works for you, not follow everything to a tee. Then obviously, I go to the gym after that first hour. So I'm sort of doing a two hour 5 AM Club. It's what works for you. And then at the gym, I do weights generally. And then I have a sauna, or a steam and I find I come out of there feeling awesome and ready to dive into the day.

Latimore details how long he’s been involved in these rituals, how strict he is— or isn’t— with them, and the little 5 AM distractions that sometimes pop up!

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:11:01] It's obviously not ideal when the alarm goes off some mornings at 10 to five! Even last night, I obviously worked like I mentioned until 10:30 [or] 11, just on the laptop knocking over some things I needed done. So to be honest, I was 5:15 Club today, not 5 AM Club. I was a bit late to get up! But I still got up and made my coffee and had my lemon water and read my book on meditation, and then went to the gym. But it does take a while. What did he say... actually, I think James Clear, he said it in Atomic Habits. I think it takes 30 days to develop a habit. Is that right? Yeah, I think it's 30 days.

[00:11:37] So obviously I'm not doing seven days a week, but I've got a consistency in what I'm doing and I've really plotted my life and I feel like since I started it— it would have been September, August last year maybe— I've just been in a lot better headspace. So any listeners out there, I would highly recommend that, even yourself. Come back to me and give me some feedback. It's a bit harder with the kids coming in at 5:30 though, and I've been lucky— unless one of them wets the bed! I have the odd wet bed and I can hear him coming up the stairs and ruin my 5 AM. But hey, family duties take priority.

Coming up after the break, we dive deeper into Latimore’s meditation practises...

[00:13:07] But with mine... it will often tell you your mind will start to wander. And every time it says that I've wandered somewhere else. It just teaches you to come back and try and focus.

How COVID threw him some curveballs, but perhaps it wasn’t the worst thing...

[00:17:25] And even with our mortgage brokers been in the last 18 months for me, like I've had a few curveballs there last year, but now where I've ended up is the best place I could be for me to keep developing and keep learning the industry that I do love and see myself in for a long time.

How his NRL career prepared him for mortgage broking in ways he didn’t expect...

[00:25:54] So I had some great experiences in front of big crowds. And other times I didn't. That's just like coming to work— you have a good day mortgage broking one day, then the next day, I'm like, 'What the hell's going on here?'

And that’s next. I’m Tyrone Shum and you’re listening to Property Investory.

Latimore strengthens his mental focus by meditating, using an app. He discusses which app he uses and if it has been helpful for him.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:12:35] What I do [is] I have an app called the Smiling Mind. So you can download that if you want to. My old club doctor at St. George Dragons, Steffan Erikkson. I was telling him about what I was doing and he was like, 'Oh, mate, I do it!' But he sits in a chair and just focuses on his breathing for like 20 minutes. So just like breathe in, counts to four, then out, like six or seven. And he does that for 20 minutes. And he's a very relaxed dude, so it's obviously working for him!

[00:13:07] But with mine... it will often tell you your mind will start to wander. And every time it says that I've wandered somewhere else. It just teaches you to come back and try and focus. And then obviously, that helps you with life because you've got so many distractions, whether it's your mobile phone and getting on social media, or checking the stock market or getting on news.com or what's happening with the NBA scores and you're like, 'None of that, come on, focus, get back to working'. And then that's something I've gotten better at, not picking up my phone as much throughout the day. 

Tyrone Shum:
Back to books, Latimore is clearly an avid reader and a fan of the book Atomic Habits. He explores the habits he’s picked up from the book that are especially helpful for him. 

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:14:34] I feel like that's just me in general. Like I've always had goals through my rugby league career and writing things down and making things become a habit. But in saying that, I'm not the perfect person, I've got plenty of flaws! So I'm always trying to change bad habits. And some I have and some I haven't. I think life's a constant learning experience. And that's why I'm such an avid reader, because I feel every book I'd pick up I'd pick something out of it that I can apply in life. But more with me and myself is just my own habits and routines that I've developed through playing rugby league. 

[00:15:19] I'm a bit OCD and a bit of a stickler for how I do things. And I think that's just me as an individual. But, like you talked about James Clear and Atomic Habits, are you on the email list? I get them every Friday, I love reading when you go. And obviously, they're all generally quoted in the Google world, but I find Friday morning, get on there and refreshing on some of the things he puts out is always a good way to keep learning and reminding yourself what you're trying to achieve. 

If he could go back 10 years and tell himself one thing, what would it be?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:16:36] Definitely— and especially this is a property investing podcast— just go back 10 years and trust my judgement. Don't listen to other people and do a bit more research instead of trusting people who I don't know. Like, I went off someone's referral. And that'd be the main lesson there. Even though it didn't cost me too much financially, it still burns me because I could have invested into Port Macquarie and had massive capital growth, instead of just coming out a bit behind by buying two properties in the Gold Coast. 

[00:17:14] So that would be my main piece of advice for myself. Football, like in terms of how that journey went— everything happened for a reason for me there, and where I ended up I was meant to be. And even with our mortgage brokers been in the last 18 months for me, like I've had a few curveballs there last year, but now where I've ended up is the best place I could be for me to keep developing and keep learning the industry that I do love and see myself in for a long time.

Tyrone Shum:
He mentioned he ran into a few curveballs during 2020, and goes into further detail on what some of those were.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:17:49] The first one where I literally just retired and my mate then told me he's gonna get out of the industry, and then into COVID, where I didn't have the base of a network, because everyone was refinancing. But I didn't really have that amount of people to refinance because I didn't have that network of clients to do it. But the catch-22 to that was I got to homeschool my little boy because he was not at school. And my wife's job, as I mentioned, was full on and she was at home. So that's why I always said to my wife, ‘Everything happens for a reason’. And I played for five NRL clubs across 11 years, I got told by football clubs that I wasn't wanted anymore. I had injuries and even still now I look back on it, and it's taught me so much about how strong I can be mentally. I've played in semi finals in front of crowds of 40,000 [or] 50,000 people and I've just learnt so much through what my journey has been. 

[00:18:49] The mortgage broking, how that went the early part of last year, that set me up to where I am now. I used to say to my wife 'Oh, COVID, I hate this, I'm not busy'. She's like, 'Enjoy not being busy'. And now I'm at a point where I can't keep up, like, I'm so crazy busy, but I love it. I said to her last night, I've gotta work for a couple of hours tonight', but I love doing it. I'm passionate about it. And I love it. I'm helping people. I mentioned that literally to her yesterday, going, 'I do know now what you mean about ‘enjoy it when it's quiet’, because I've got so much coming up!' Because I'm still doing stuff with the football club. And I've got to go to Mudgee next week. So I've got three days at the start of next week to try and lodge all these loans. And that's not if something else comes in in the next three days as well. More work. So be grateful! And that's something we do at home, practice gratitude and be grateful for what we have, and I'm grateful for what's going on at the moment.

[00:20:14] Even though in saying that, I don't know if my son went backwards when I was homeschooling because a few English questions thrown at me were curveballs! Nah, that was actually really cool. We'd go and play footy most days, like we'd knock over his schoolwork and we'd go down and play footy at the park and it was awesome. 

Tyrone Shum:   

The pandemic can definitely be described as a blessing in disguise in certain ways, including giving us more time with our family, which Latimore has relished.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:20:49] I've touched on ‘everything happens for a reason’. And again, it's thrown me a few curveballs with investments last year and work, but looking back... we'd get my mates to come to my house and we'd have a few beers instead of going to pubs because you couldn't go to pubs. It was a nightmare. You had to book in and you had to sit down the whole time. So at least at your own house, you can have a beer and enjoy yourself and stand and walk around. Yeah, it's definitely changed how we live forever, I think.

Looking to the future, where does he see himself in terms of his career, his property investment, and his family in five years’ time?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:21:32] It's a really good question because obviously I do look 12 months ahead, five years ahead, 10 years ahead— and all of a sudden I retired from footy a year and a half ago into full time work and it feels like it's been 10 years! So who knows what's gonna happen in the next five years but I see myself as going really well in mortgage broking. I hope that I'm still doing work with a football club because I love that job. The kids are going to be growing up, I'd be coaching my little boy's footy team. I'm actually playing footy again this year, but I won't be playing footy in five years, I can guarantee you that! And I'll probably, by that point, be looking to purchase another investment property.

Tyrone Shum:   

[00:22:13] Fantastic. So, hold on, you told me you're looking to play footy again this year— what's going on?

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:22:23] Down... I don't even know what group it is, group six, the Mittagong Lions. I'm playing with a few of my ex teammates from the NRL, we've got a few boys down there playing together. So this would be the... well, I might play next year, one or two games for my Port Macquarie Sharks team, because I've always told them I'll come back and play some games. Give back to where I grew up. That club gave me so much to take me on the journey I did, so I am very grateful for that.

Success can generally be determined by four things— skill, intelligence, hard work, and luck. Latimore contemplates which factors have been the biggest contributors in his case.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:23:07] I think if you asked most people I've played footy with I didn't have a great amount of skill! I had a decent offload, that would be the skill I had. But it all was hard work. I do work every inch of what I had to get to where I did. Perseverance was a big one for me. I never give up and I could have a couple of times, but I hung in there. And that skill now alone is what's helped me in my post-football career. 

[00:23:37] I just feel any professional athlete from a team environment has a skill set if they're willing to do the work in a post-football career because it's such a unique skill set. You're in the fire every week, whether you're playing a game of football, you're getting judged on your performance, you get judged by fans, your coach, even when you go home, your mum and dad are going 'Oh, you didn't play that well today!' Like, you're getting judged everywhere. And that's something I feel, that skill set is so unique. 

[00:24:12] My main thing was hard work. I've had a little bit of luck at the same time. I haven't been able to do what I have without having a bit of luck. There's been a lot of guys I played with who were way better players than me and I played a lot more football than them, but they had injuries. Even growing up in the bush, there were some blokes out there who are way better footballers than me who never even played a game of under 20s in Sydney. But that's where my persistence and a bit of luck and the hard work came into it, I feel.

Playing in front of 40,000 to 50,000 people must be daunting. He explains how he does it and if it’s difficult, or comes naturally to him.

Jeremy Latimore:   

[00:25:03] I've done it for so long. Public speaking is something when I was a kid I used to get so rattled about, whereas now because I've done it, talking to kids at schools or in front of crowds at presentation night, I've gotten a lot better at that. But rugby league is something I've done forever. So obviously, there's a bit of performance anxiety— I was like, 'I've got to play well, this is a big game'. You put pressure on yourself to play to a certain standard. Especially the last few years in my career, I saw myself as a larrikin and I played that role. So I'd just embrace it for what it was. 

[00:25:40] But there'd be times where— I wouldn't lie to you, I was nervous, going out to play. There's a lot riding on football games, whether it's you putting pressure on yourself, or you've got fans at the football club who want to see you play well and win. So I had some great experiences in front of big crowds. And other times I didn't. That's just like coming to work— you have a good day mortgage broking one day, then the next day, I'm like, 'What the hell's going on here?'

Thank you to Jeremy Latimore, our guest on this episode of Property Investory.